Love Me For Who I Am
by Senwich
Summary: When a lookalike princess of the village girl Sakura goes missing, Sakura must act as her! But what's this? She has to marry a prince? SasuSakuNeji
1. Kidnapped?

**NOTE: This story was inspired by Mulan II :D**

**Summary:** AU. When a look-alike princess of the peasant Sakura goes missing, Sakura must act as her for the sake of the kingdom! But what's this? She must marry one of the two princes from the other two kingdoms? SasuSakuNeji

**About the Story(extended summary):** Sarutobi is not dead and he is not the king. He is a normal villager. Konohamaru is his grandson. Tsunade is the queen and her husband, Jiraiya Haruno(I had to make his last name Haruno because I dont' know his last name) is the king because I always thought they looked cute together. They have a daughter name Sakura who had been declared missing for a week now. Jiraiya had made a deal with the other two kingdoms, the Uchiha and the Hyuuga Kingdoms, that he'd form an alliance with the kingdom that his daughter chooses to marry the prince of. This is where Ino, Princess Sakura's bodyguard and best friend, decides to use a village girl...who looks exactly like Sakura.

The prince of the Uchiha Kingdom is Sasuke who will become king once he marries. His family was killed by his older brother Itachi whose whereabouts are currently unknown.

The prince of the Branch Hyuuga Kingdom is Neji. The Hyuuga Kingdom consists of two kingdoms: the Branch and Main. Hinata Hyuuga is the princess of the Main Hyuuga Kingdom. Neji is used as the prince who'll attempt to capture the heart of the princess Sakura and form an alliance with the Haruno Kingdom because...well I don't like HinataxSakura -.-

**Disclaimers: **I'm have never exceeded making over 5 pages of manga...

_o-o-o-o-o-o-o-_

**_BAM!_**

A furious man, about his 40s, slammed his hands down on a table. He gritted his teeth in anger. Next to him stood a beautiful woman, about his age, with a look of uncertainty and devastation on her face.

"Gaara, do not play games with me. Just because I favor you that does not mean you can joke around. Understand?" The King Jiraiya growled dangerously, glaring at two people who stood before him. One was a male with red hair and the other was a female with long, blonde hair tied in a ponytail.

The male Gaara, about 17 with red hair, bristled."I am not joking around Jiraiya. You know I would never joke about the princess and especially in a situation and time like this. I thought you said that you thought of me like a son? You don't trust me after all?

Jiraiya sighed frustrated. "Yes, yes. Sorry for doubting you. What shall we do now? At this rate, our kingdom would fall for sure!" Jiraiya paced left and right. "We need to find Sakura soon!"

The blonde girl studied the man carefully and after a while she spoke, "Sir...I propose that we use a village girl."

Jiraiya turned to her, his eyes widened in shock for a minute. "Use...a village girl? Where did you get that idea Ino? You know Sakura is like a one of a kind and the other kingdoms already have a photo of her." And yes, indeed she was. The priness, Sakura, had beautiful jade eyes that that shone brightly in the light while most girls had dull brown ones. She had smooth, cream skin while others had tanned, rough skin. Her smile was so pure it could light up a dark room. But most importantly, she had natural, soft, cherry blossom colored hair. To have such pink hair, you'd have to go buy a dye for it.

"Yes," Ino replied. "I know. However, I was in the village the other day. You remember right? You told me to search for Sakura. I saw a village girl who looked just like her. Her eyes were green like Sakura's. She was young and about my age with a smiled much like Sakura's, and her hair...was pink. Besides, the other kingdoms only have a photo of her. Could they possibly decipher her attitude? They know nothing about her, right?"

Jiraiya was quiet and at lost. A princess look-alike? He chuckled to himself and smirked. "Ino, I think I'm giving you a raise."

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The moon dominated the dark sky and somewhere in a small house... 

"Okay now get to bed!" a young girl exclaimed. She was about 16 though her body was very petite yet developed quite well and her sea-green eyes shone as deep as jade itself. Her long, pink hair flowed rythmically in the ponytail that it was put up into. She was not very pretty, just average looking in beauty. However, her emerald eyes, pink hair, and innocent expression was something that exceeded mere beauty. Her looks were one that would stay with you for her pure heart could be recognized through her looks.

"Aww! But I don't wanna Sakura-san!" the young boy complained to the older girl known as Sakura.

"Konohamaru you _must_ go to bed! You need a lot of rest because there is a big day ahead of all of us tomorrow!" Sakura commanded, pushing him towards his bedroom. The boy known as Konohamaru refused. "Konohamaru! Go. To. Bed!"

"But can I just stay up one more hour?" the young boy pleaded.

"No you cannot! We all know you don't wake up when you are supposed to!"

"But I promise I'll"

"Nuh-uh! With you, promises are only made to be broken!"

"No really! This time I'll really, really wake up ear"

"Why don't you just go to bed and then you can wake up extra-early and play?"

"But the evil monsters are going to get me! Going to bed early will only give them more time to eat me!"

Sakura sighed. Why were kids so easily scared about such things as monsters? To her the only moster that existed would be the Uchiha and Hyuuga kingdoms who were just cold and heartless. The Hyuuga Kingdom was alright but they were merciless and their punishments were excruciating. The Uchiha Kingdom was worse though. In the Uchiha Kingdom, there were no such words was "innocent until proven guilty" because it was always "guilty until proven innocent."

"Look how about this, Konohamaru. I'll stay with you tonight and protect you!"

"Really?"

"Yep! You can rest assured that as long as I'm here, no one will hurt you!" She grinned.

Konohamaru beamed and ran straight to his room. Sakura followed and took a seat, leaning against Konohamaru's bed. She could feel the gentle night breeze flowing through the open window. Peering out the window, she had a clear view of the dark, starry night filled with glowing stars. She studied the glimmering stars until her eyes were drooped with weariness and she submitted to sleep. Unknown to Sakura and anyone else, a shadow lurked in the dark of Konohamaru's room...

* * *

In the living room outside of Konohamaru's room sat two people: an old man and a middle-aged woman. Both sat in complete silence until the woman smiled and spoke, "Sakura sure is admired by the kids. Gai-san told me that Lee is even beginning to develope a crush on her." 

The man chuckled, "Well it's not everyday that you meet a pleasant young woman like little Sakura. She is indeed a rare type of girl: gentle and fragile like a cherry blossom but not completely helpless. I think the young boys nowadays are just drawn to delicate girls."

"She sure has lightened up this place you know? Before, there were only the two of us,Konohamaru, and little Mei(Senko: Mei is OC),"the woman chuckled along with the old man.

* * *

It was cold. 

Sakura shivered. She searched anxiously for warmth, grasping the smooth, silky sheets of her bed. Wait a minute...silky?Since when had her bedsheets become "silky"? Oh well, all that matters is the warmth that she needed. It was awfully cold this fall...

_Silky..._

_Silky..._

Sakura eyes jolted open and she bolted right up from the bed that she laid on._'What...the...' _

Sakura studied around her surroundings. She was laid on a gorgeous designed and extremely large bed with a beautiful shade of pink. To her right was a huge and strikingly appealing mirror with an exquisite dresser next to it. To her left was an enormous glass window/door and an elegant balcony could be seen connected to it. There was a magnificent vase with dazzling pink roses set on the dresser. Sakura instantly knew this wasn't her room. The question was, who's room was this and how did she get there?

Sakura got up from the bed and walked towards a large door which she assumed was the enter and exit of the room. She couldn't stay there. What if someone caught her and she wasn't suppose to be there? And if that was the case, how was she going to explain everything? Could she just tell her them that she went asleep at her house but woke up and found herself _there?_ Well that certainly wouldn't be very convincing. I mean how would you feel if you went to your room to find that someone _else _was there and all that person had to say was that that person went to sleep and woke up in your room? For all you know, that person was probably a theif or something who snuck to your room and lied because he/she was caught.

Sakura turned the doorknob and opened the door only to be faced with a girl about her age with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail and cerulean sea eyes...

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Ok! What did you all think of that? Review! 

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	2. The Request and The Dumb Mistake

**Senko:** Hi hi everyone! I'd like to humbly thank those who reviewed! Thank you all so much! Um…oh yeah a lot of your reviews asked about the names. I admit it -.- I was too lazy to think up of a name for the village girl Sakura. If it makes you feel better though, you can just think that I forgot to mention it in the previous chapter!

**IMPORTANT:** I suppose it _is_ quite confusing with both the females being named Sakura. So, I will allow you readers to vote for the name of both girls. Of course, one of the names MUST remain as Sakura. I highly encourage you to make the princess be Sakura because the village girl will be spending most of her time in this story acting as the princess. Make up a name that you want for one of the characters and I will consider the name. I will choose a name that I find intriguing or interesting then edit the previous chapter and that name will be used for future chapters. I apologize for not considering the possibility of confusion in the names…and why the hell am I talking with big words? -.- So _not_ me…**THIS CHAPTER WILL BE WRITTEN IN THE VILLAGE GIRL'S POV! **Why? Because that ways it'll spare me the trouble of editing this chapter…

**Summary:** When a look-alike princess of the slave Sakura goes missing, Sakura must act as her! But what's this? She has to marry one of two princes? SasuSakuNeji

**Previously on "Love Me For Who I Am":** _Sakura got up from the bed and walked towards a large door which she assumed was the enter and exit of the room. She couldn't stay there. What if someone caught her and she wasn't suppose to be there? And if that was the case, how was she going to explain everything? Could she just tell her them that she went asleep at her house but woke up and found herself there? Well that certainly wouldn't be very convincing. I mean how would you feel if you went to your room to find that someone else was there and all that person had to say was that that person went to sleep and woke up in your room? For all you know, that person was probably a theif or something who snuck to your room and lied because he/she was caught._

_Sakura turned the doorknob and opened the door only to be faced with a girl about her age with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail and cerulean sea eyes...

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**Chapter 2**

I stood before the blonde hair girl, wide-eyed in shock and fear. Oh my god! Nooo! I've been caught! I broke eye contact and shifted my sights down at the glossy floor as my mind searched for an excuse, any excuse. I sighed to myself. Okay…calm down Sakura…at least you know that you didn't come here on purpose…and…and AAHH! What'll I do!

"Uh…um…um…you see…I…er…" No excuses came to me at the moment. I felt as though just blurting out the facts and say that I awoke and just found myself here but I know for sure that no one would believe that. It was almost like seeing someone cheat on you and then they say that it's not what it looks like when you saw it right? Except, in my case, I really didn't go to wherever the hell that place was.

"You always wake up early?" The girl asked.

I blinked. What? What did that girl mean by that? Did she mean that they had planned for me to be there? Did they kidnap me? I glanced back up at the girl, "W-What? What do you mean do I wake up early? What is going on? Where am I?"

Before I knew it, I was quickly pushed back into the room by the unknown female, fell down on the floor, and landed painfully. I clenched her teeth, got up furiously, and faced the girl. "WHAT THE HELL! WHAT IS GOING ON! WHERE THE HELL AM I! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" The girl glared enraged at me.

"Where…where the hell am I?" I glowered straight into the girl's eyes. The girl sighed. I took this brief moment to study the unknown girl. She had long blonde hair tied in a ponytail and deep sapphire eyes. She had on a violet, sleeveless top and a short, violet skirt that was split as the sides. Her thighs and portion of stomach wrapped in bandages, even though she was obviously not hurt, could be shown. She had a forehead protector wrapped around her waist and Sakura assumed she was a ninja. Only a ninja would have one.(Senko: In other words she's wearing her ninja outfit.)

"OK look, do not shout or scream. This place is big and your damn screams will echo throughout the place. Now, calm down it's not what it looks like," The girl began. At first, she sounded a bit rude but her voice soon became soft.

I rolled her eyes. "Oh right. I should not panic nor scream because _it's not what it looks like_. I presume _you_ were one that took me here, no? Well let's see…I was safe at home and fell asleep. I awake to find myself in this _place_, where the hell this is, and _you_ seem to know what I'm doing here! NOW I DEMAND YOU JUST LET ME OUTTA THIS PLACE!"

The girl growled, "ARGH! I TOLD YOU TO"

"Ino, shut up," a voice said. Unknown to both of us, someone had entered the room. Now, standing behind Ino was a guy about my age. He had red hair and some marking like a tattoo on his left forehead. On his back was something…a gourd? His looks were quite intimidating and his eyes were scary, almost as if telling us that he had not had enough sleep and was rather cranky. "You are not to behave so rude…he specifically said that."

The girl rolled her eyes mumbled something under her breath. I couldn't make out what she said but I was sure it wasn't something happy. Then she spoke again in a louder voice, "Yamanaka Ino at your service. I'm assigned to be your bodyguard."

I blinked twice. What? Bodyguard? Was someone after me? Did Sarutobi do this? No. I'm pretty sure he would have told me and besides, what kinda of "bodyguard" practically kidnaps the person they are to protect? Not to say I don't like the place I am in though. It is really pretty.

"Gaara," The boy closed his eyes and nodded his head down. So, their names were Ino and Gaara?

I took a small step forward. This still didn't explain why I am here. "Why am I here? If you say that you are assigned as my bodyguard, Yamanaka, then why am I not in my home right now? Why are you my bodyguard if you practically kidnapped me?"

Ino sighed, though I think she didn't need to. The only person who needed to sigh was ME!

"I apologize for any misunderstandings," Gaara began. "Ino was merely assigned to protect you and bring you to the palace. We have a small, depending on how you want to look at it, request."

"Palace? Oh and I assume it's custom of you to kidnap those you have a request for?" I retorted. Gaara glared at me.

"Geez you seriously need manners, forehead girl," WHAT! How dare that stupid Ino say that!

"WHAT! You shut the fuck up, Ino-pig!" Now where did that come from? Well I really don't care. She _does_ have a similarity to a pig though. I chuckled to myself.

"You…" I see that Ino can only glare at me at this point. Anger must be filling up inside her.

"Ino," It was that Gaara guy again.

Ino growled. "Fine. Ok look here forehead girl, I don't want to waste anymore of my time. We just need you to act as the princess of the Haruno Kingdom."

_What?_

"What?"

Gaara folded his arms and leaned against the door. To most, it'd seem like nothing but to me, I believe that Gaara is preventing me from leaving the room. Jumping out the window can't be an option either unless I want to die. But anyways, why would I jump out the window all because they want me to be the princess? Wait is this a joke?

Ino sighed. "I don't believe that many of the residents have heard, but the princess is currently missing. It seems she was taking a walk outside of the castle grounds accompanied by a few guards. However, she did not return. We found the guards; all of them were dead except one was injured badly and is currently in a coma. As you might know, though you most likely don't, the three kingdoms are at the brink of war.

"If there is no princess of the Haruno Kingdom, our kingdom would surely be the quickest and first to fall. I'm sure you know of the capabilities of the Hyuuga and Uchiha Kingdom right? They are very powerful."

I was looking at Ino and Gaara with a shocked look. The princess was missing? Well it wasn't like the residents knew much. The Haruno Kingdom was most liked by females because the Haruno Kingdom preferred peace. They'd do almost anything to just provide the residents tranquility and free of worries. Yes…anything from not telling them the princess was missing, not telling them that the three kingdoms were on the brink of war…and using a mere village girl to pose as the princess for the sake of the kingdom…

Then again, this could be a lie.

"Stop joking. If this is true, I'd suggest you go find another girl who cares," I responded. I didn't know why but I don't want to be a princess. For as long as I can remember, I was raised as a simple resident of Konoha, the main city of the Haruno Kingdom. I enjoy running through the fields, playing tag, and such activities. But I also enjoy cooking, especially sweets, and gazing at stars or a field of beautiful flowers.

Sure, when I was younger I had wanted to be a princess. Most girls do don't they? To live with riches, wear the best quality clothings, have a lot of maids serving you, and lastly…marry a sweet and handsome prince. Wouldn't that be the perfect life? No. That wasn't.

I soon came to my senses when I met the Main Hyuuga princess when I was 12. The Hyuugas had come to our kingdom for something. I later found out from my Uncle Sarutobi that it was for an alliance. I don't remember her name, but I remember her well. She was pale with short blue hair. I could her face…full of uncertainty. When I looked into her white eyes, I just saw she wasn't satisfied. Then I noticed it. I loved to run through the fields right? I loved to play tag with Konohamaru right? But was she allowed to do such things?

I don't recall seeing the Haruno princess anytime. No. Never once in my life had I seen her. On that same day that I saw the Hyuuga princess, I met up with her once. It was around dusk and I was returning home when I saw her wandering around…

**-o-o-o-Flashback-o-o-o-o-**

_I hummed a lively tune as I was watering the flowers. My neighbors owned a flower shop and I often helped out around the place. All I did was help the customers find the right flowers that they wanted. My neighbors had accepted me to help them. They said that I had a talent in deciphering flowers._

_I stopped as I saw a pale, young girl up ahead. She had short blue hair and her eyes…were white. I remembered my uncle Sarutobi once told me that the Hyuuga family were the only family in the world capable of having white eyes. She must be the princess. I then started to walk up to her._

"_HI!" I beamed. She looked at me, almost scare. Yes, almost. _

"_H-hi…" she stuttered. _

"_Your eyes, you must be a Hyuuga right?"_

"_Um…y-yes…I am…"_

"_What are you doing here? It's almost nighttime!"_

"_I…got lost…I can't find my way back."_

"_Oh really? I'll help you back!"_

_I went and set down the watering can near the counter. Then, I informed my neighbors that I'd be leaving. Yes, I was going to show a princess her way back to the Haruno Kingdom. How many chances does a common girl get to show a princess around? I was enjoying my time, walking beside the princess. It was delightful but I found that the princess was often quiet. She'd smile and nod occasionally while I talked until…_

"_Say…how's it like? You know…to…to play? And…and run around uncontrolled…and talk continuously? "_

**-o-o-o-o-End Flashback-o-o-o-o-**

"Look, I assure you this isn't a joke," Gaara said. "Why would we waste our time taking you here for no practical reason? After all, don't you think we'd be dead by now if we kidnapped you? There are a lot of guards around here and King Jiraiya will not tolerate crimes."

True. What Gaara said was true…but still.

"No. I'm not going to be your princess. Go find another village girl who'll want to be a princess," I looked at both of them and declared. I made sure my eyes clearly said This-is-my-decision-and-you-can't-change-it.

"You. Will. Participate." I didn't look over at Gaara but I knew it was him who said that. His voice was really…unpleasant, terrifying…and demanding. I bet his eyes must be twice worse.

Gaara took a step towards me. He and Ino were now in front of me.

I gulped. What was I to do now? Wait…Gaara was no longer guarding the door! I smirked to myself as I dashed past them and out of the door. I could feel Ino's presence following me.

"HEY! STOP!" That was Ino. A smirk was now visible on my face. Was she this foolish? Does she think that I'd stop all because she told me to? Isn't she a ninja? Perhaps this was a trick after all. If she _is_ a ninja, she should know that she could stop me in an instant.

"HEY! I SAID STOP!"

I continued to run. "AND WHAT INO! YOU THINK I'LL OBEY _YOU_!"

"NO REALLY! PLEASE STOP!"

Her voice was more of a pleading one now but I won't fall for that. Even if she now sounded like she cared, you can never trust someone you barely met in less than an hour.

"PLEASE! STOP RUNNING! AT LEAST STOP RUNNING IN THAT DIRECTION!"

As if I'll stop! I continued running with Ino following behind me until I was forced to come to a halt. I should be out of this place already but I guess this is what a 'palace' is. I had passed by many doors but all of them seemed the same. This was the only one that was larger and the entrance consisted of two doors. I raised my right hand to one of the doorknobs, about to open it until I heard Ino's voice again.

"AAH! DON'T OPEN THE DOOR!"

What is she this dense? Doesn't she know that the more she yells at me, there is a bigger possibility of me doing what she don't want me to? Deciding to ignore her voice(again), I twisted the doorknob. "WELL I JUST OPENED THE DOOR INO!" A proud smirk arose on my face…until I noticed that there were people in the room.

There were three males in the room. The oldest had long white hair. Sitting far to the right of him was a young boy about my age. He's rather cute…he has dark navy hair. His eyes were closed and his chin laid on his hands, which were intersect, and rested on a table. I saw his eyes open slightly and glance up at me. Across from him, to the far left of the old man, was another boy about my age. His hair was long, black, and tied loosely at the end…

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Meanwhile outside of the room….

Ino beamed at Gaara, who had calmly caught up. "Well whaddya know? Reverse psychology does work after all!"

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That's it for now! D Don't forget to review everyone! **And also vote for the name!** I'd like to also say that I am returning to school on March 29. I am currently on Spring Break…and so I'm not sure if I'll be able to update really soon, considering that I have to take the CAT6 test next month and my teachers are cramming hella lessons to 'prepare' us... 


	3. I will be your princess temporarily

**Senko:** Well I normally don't really type up my stories much…I'm really lazy and it takes me forever to click on the Microsoft Word thing . LoL yeah I'm really lazy but as you can see, I've been quite bored lately. The fanfics I've been reading are really starting to get boring! I'm not a big yaoi fan and so I don't really read yaoi…don't get me wrong, I find yaoi okay but I'm just not a big fan. There's hardly much to read ;-; PLEASE! Will someone write a HakuSaku story? Cause I've only read one HakuSaku story and I really like it. All the other Haku stories are either HakuZabuza or HakuNaru you know?

**IMPORTANT NOTE:** I have decided to make **both** the village girl and the princess **be named Sakura!** Why? Simply because I meant for the village girl to be the Naruto character Sakura and the princess to be someone else. Then, the village girl aka the Naruto character Sakura, would have to act as the princess. But I did not like the idea of having Sakura be called something else for the whole story! However, if I change the name of the village girl, then the main character would not be the naruto character Sakura anymore! So, I decided to have both be named Sakura! The chapter will explain it when Ino…this chapter will explain it! XD If you are confused with the names too much, then say so and I will consider writing the whole story in first person point of view!

I apologize deeply if this chapter (and/or future chapters) may appear confusing. I've read a few stories where a certain character has two identities. In this case, the village girl will have to act as the princess and both will have the same name: Sakura. However, to help you guys out, I will refer the princess to 'princess Sakura' or 'Sakura-sama' ok? If the future chapters get confusing, I will attempt to write it out in 1st person POV to see if it helps. Also, I will now be referring Jiraiya, Sasuke, Neji etc. as Jiraiya-sama, Uchiha-sama/Sasuke-sama, Hyuuga-sama/Neji-sama etc. ok?

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**RESPONSES(chapters 1 and 2 that is; I apologize if I 'forget' to give you a response)**

**Springninja:** Thankies so much for reviewing!

**Bleumoon469:** I know LoL I try my best not to rush. I decided to make Sakura disagree with the whole princess thing because I thought that that'd be boring! I mean, where's the fun then if she's all happy with being a princess and stuff? You need conflicts in stories after all :D

**Lady of Genesis:** Thankies a bunchies for you review :D

**CrissyKitty:** LoL sorry if the flashbacks confused you too much! You are supporting Neji? Oh yeah! I forgot! I have absolutely no idea of who I'm going to make Sakura be with! . Ok since you are supporting Neji…that's like…one for Neji and zero for Sasuke…

**A. L. S.**: I took your advice into consideration you know? I at first looked up names and I was actually gonna make the village girl be named Haruko, which, according to some site, meant Spring child :D But as you can see, I changed my mind ;-;

**Allyssaashley:** No I'm not phillipino(is that how you spell it?). I have a friend who is phillipino though. However, I am Asian! If you wanna know what type, then ask me. I'm just not telling yet cause I doubt that you'd know what it is.

**LOvEnEko:** O.O;;; at your thumbs up and flash that resembles Gai's.

**XYX:** Thank you so much!

**Blackbelt:** Well as you can see, your wish is my command. You now have two more wishes LoL I'm just kidding :D

**Bevy-Chan:** Sorry for confusing you TT-TT

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**Disclaimers:** I don't own Naruto -.- 

**Previously on "Love Me For Who I Am": **_What is she this dense? Doesn't she know that the more she yells at me, there is a bigger possibility of me doing what she don't want me to? Deciding to ignore her voice(again), I twisted the doorknob. "WELL I JUST OPENED THE DOOR INO!" A proud smirk arose on my face…until I noticed that there were people in the room._

_There were three males in the room. The oldest had long white hair. Sitting far to the right of him was a young boy about my age. He's rather cute…he has dark navy hair. His eyes were closed and his chin laid on his hands, which were intersect, and rested on a table. I saw his eyes open slightly and glance up at me. Across from him, to the far left of the old man, was another boy about my age. His hair was long, black, and tied loosely at the end…

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**Chapter 3**

"AH! Sakura! You're here!" the old man exclaimed with a smile on his face. Sakura stared at the man with a look of uncertainty on her face. What was this man saying? Who the hell _is_ this man anyways?

"Uh…excuse me but…" Sakura started. She was _going_ to say 'Excuse me but how the hell do you know me?' but couldn't because…

"Oh excuse us!" A female voice finished. It was Ino's. Ino had entered the room, unnoticed by Sakura. "I'm so sorry Jiraiya-sama, Uchiha-sama, Hyuuga-sama. Sakura and I were sparring and she was trying to escape my mind transfer technique." Ino bowed apologetically, took my Sakura's arm, lead her out of the room, and shut the door close.

Once outside, Sakura struggled out of Ino's grasp. "WHAT THE HELL!"

"JUST SHUT UP! I told you not to run this way _and _not to open the door! If I was an enemy, I would've already led you to a trap using reverse psychology!"

Sakura remained silent for a while, knowing that she did indeed fall for it. "Hmph whatever just let me outta this goddamn place! I don't even _belong_ here nor do I _want_ to be here!"

"You will remain here," Ino snarled dangerously.

Sakura walked away from Ino, starting down the long hallway. "Look I don't really care ok? Go find some other village girl to play the princess. I'm pretty sure that there are lots of girls out there who'd love to be a princess."

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_Inside that room with King Jiraiya, Prince Uchiha, and Prince Hyuuga…_

"WHAT THE HELL!"

"JUST SHUT UP! I told you not to run this way and not to open the door! If I was an enemy, I would've already led you to a trap using reverse psychology!"

The three males could hear everything the two females were saying. After all, the females were only a couple of feet away from the door and were yelling…quite loudly too.

"I see your daughter has quite a temper, Jiraiya. I thought she was more…the gentle and obedient type," the boy with white eyes stated.

Jiraiya laughed nervously. "Well yes she is…at times that is. She can be quite rude and lose her temper easily when fighting."

"She is strong, is she not?" the other boy with the dark blue hair questioned.

"Only in genjutsu. Her genjutsu skills are very high though her taitjutsu and ninjutsu are only average," Jiraiya informed. "Well I think that's enough of Sakura. You can find out more about her later on. For now, I will give you a tour of my place."

With that, Jiraiya led the two other males through a door. And just after they left, Sakura and Ino's conversation continues. It was such a shame that the two princes didn't stay to hear:

"Hmph whatever just let me outta this goddamn place! I don't even belong here nor do I want to be here!"

"You will remain here."

"Look I don't really care ok? Go find some other village girl to play the princess. I'm pretty sure that there are lots of girls out there who'd love to be a princess."

* * *

_Back outside…._

"Hey wait!" Ino ran up to Sakura. "Ok look will you please, please, please just be our princess?"

Sakura paused. She could see Ino's eyes sparkle with plead and desperation. "Ok look here, Ino, I don't want to be your princess ok? I just want to return to my home and resume living a normal life. There are a lot of young girls about my age who wants to be a princess! They've been yearning since a small little girl to live in a big castle and marry a sweet prince. They'll help you and this kingdom. I would help this kingdom in any way I can…but I won't throw away my life when there are so many others who'll willingly do this."

Ino sighed sadly. "What's your name?"

"Sakura," Sakura answered.

"What? Are you serious?" Ino stared shocked at her. "Not only do you look like the princess but you have the same name too?"

"My Uncle Sarutobi said he named me. He said that I reminded him of cherry blossoms…you know my hair and all? Yeah…"

"Ok Sakura. Well, I want the best for this kingdom too and what's best is if the residents can just live peacefully. I don't want to screw up your life when there're many others who want to do this. But…it's just that you are the only one with the princess's features…and a week before the princess Sakura went missing, we had already sent a photo of her to the other kingdoms…

"If we hadn't sent the photo…then we'd have hosted a competition to see who was best fitted to be the princess. But we can't turn back time, Sakura."

There was a long silence. "Here, let me show you," Ino led Sakura back to the room that Sakura awoke in. Once inside, Ino opened a drawer and handed Sakura a photo. Ino smiled.

"This is Sakura," Ino pointed to a girl with the exact same features as her. "The man with the white hair is Jiraiya…and the woman with the blonde hair is Tsunade. Sakura, do you see anyone else who has the same appearance as you and the princess? No right? Sakura, I was very fortunate to have seen you that other day."

Sakura studied the picture. What Ino had said was true. Before Ino had shown her the picture of the princess, Sakura had been the only one with pink hair. Most of the girls were blondes like Ino or brunettes. Few had red hair.

"Ino…tell me about the princess."

Ino smiled mildly. "The princess Sakura was very delicate and gentle and she was a bit pale. She was always smiling at other people and her eyes…always glittered. I was founded by Tsunade-sama when I was about 10 and she took me in. At the age of 12, she assigned me to be Sakura's bodyguard. Sakura was disciplined and was always well-mannered. At first…I thought of how wonderful it was as a princess…but Sakura was boring.

"It seemed to me as though she had to act as someone she wasn't. So…I began sparring with Sakura privately. I was amazed at her determination and stubbornness to avoid losing. Sparring with her was the only time she was ever interesting. Sakura wasn't really too special. She was only skilled with genjutsu.

"But it wasn't as though I was too special myself. My only special technique is my mind transfer technique though my ninjutsu and was higher than Sakura's. I didn't have to do much. All Sakura did was wander around the castle occasionally but she was always in her room a lot. She never left the castle grounds…well it wasn't as though she had a choice in going. For her own protection…she had to remain in the castle...so that…s-so that no one could see her and that ways…they wouldn't…wouldn't be able to attempt…to….attack her…."

Ino's voice faded away. Sakura stared up from the picture and looked at Ino. "And you think that I want to spend my time like this, Ino? To be 'happy' when the real 'happiness' is taken away?"

"That's not what we meant," a voice said as Sakura and Ino heard the door shut close. It was Gaara. "It would only, hopefully, be temporary. Think of it this way, the princess never bothered to communicate with many. They don't know her except her features and this could benefit you. The only time you will have to act civilized and well-mannered is in the presence of kings, meetings, maybe the princes etc. You should know that the consequence of not participating is death not only to you, but to your family…and to the whole kingdom."

Sacrifice her life for everybody else's? That was indeed a hard question. Well…sometimes…you have to stop being so stubborn. Growing up always means to think about the others as well as yourself rather than just yourself. Sakura sighed and hoped this would only be temporary as Gaara had said. "How long will I have to act?"

"An estimate of two to three weeks. We already have ANBU searching for the princess," Gaara stated before leaving the room.

"Well…maybe it won't be so bad. All I have to do is stay in the room and maybe wander around," Sakura smiled.

"Um…" Ino began. "You know those two guys back in that other room? The young and cute ones? Well…you see…they never told us when they'd be arriving. We had assumed that they'd come here in about two weeks but it seems they already came. You can just remain in here and wander around…but sooner or later, you'll have to meet them."

Sakura inhaled. "Ok. For the sake of the kingdom, I will meet the guys! At least they aren't ugly!"

"Er…Sakura? Well you see…" Ino started again but Sakura decided not to listen. Childlessly, she brought her hands up to her ears and chanted.

"At least they aren't ugly…at least they aren't ugly…at least they…"

"But Sakura?"

"Not ugly! Yeah! Not ugly!"

"Sakura they…"

"Shut up Ino-pig! You bring bad news! At least they aren't ugly and that's all I need to know!"

"What? Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure! Notuglynotuglynotugly!" Sakura beamed widely.

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**Senko: **Ok everyone :D Well like I said, I might not be updating so soon because of school and all. Can you believe I got an F in PE? DAMMIT! Well it's all cause I didn't dress for twelve times…and if you don't dress for ten times, your grade is dropped to an F. I didn't know that we had to write articles to make up for our nondresses! Honestly I didn't! April 1st was the last day for the 3rd quarter and I currently have an F! This could result in not graduating or walking the stage, not being able to go on the 8th grade field trip or participate in the activities, and not being able to go to the AVID fieldtrip! WAAH! But I am not all bad -.- I have all A's in my other classes…except maybe Science I might get a B+….waaah….but I am so fortunate! My PE teacher said that April 1st may be the last day of the quarter but they don't turn in the grades until the following Monday and she says that if I do seven news article summaries, she'll raise my F up to an A! I'm so relieved! But then now I still got Algebra homework to do…and prepare for some interview….argh! So as you can see, I am extremely busy, pressured, and stressed! 

In truth, I would not even be updating right now! I'd be updating in about like...another week or two! However, I had already had this chapter typed up when I was still on Spring Break :)

REVIEW EVERYONE! This story rests in the hands...er...the reviews of you readers!


	4. Meeting Neji

**Senko:** Alrighty everyone! Senko is back! I haven't updated in a while lol well I been busy with school work yeah. And now, it's going to be even busier. Read the bottom of this chapter if you are interesting in knowing what is going on with me at school and why I'm busy v.v;;

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**Shy-Lil-Dreamer:** LOL perhaps :D

**Isiri:** Hey, you know, when I first thought of the story I thought that I'd make it like that too. I thought I should make the princess, like, get lost or something and get amnesia and then Sarutobi finds her and all. But I think that'd be too cliché you know?

**A. L. S.:** Why'd you review two times with the same review? o.O;;

**Springninja:** Thanks! )

**Allyssaashley:** Why are the chapters so short? Hmm…oh yeah! It's because I'm lazy T-T no really it is lol well I'll try my best to extend the **future** chapters!

And thanks a bunch to **Princess7**, **benjem**, **arandomreader**, **neu chi no nai u**, and **Dagorwen of Ithilien **for reviewing!

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**Disclaimers:** Sheez I don't own it!

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**Previously on "Love Me For Who I Am":** _"Shut up Ino-pig! You bring bad news! At least they aren't ugly and that's all I need to know!"_

"_What? Are you sure?"_

"_Yes I'm sure! Notuglynotuglynotugly!" Sakura beamed widely.

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_

_Thoughts/emphasis _ italics

"Speech" quotes

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**Chapter 4**

Jade eyes diverted from the glossy ceiling and peered out through the massive window unto the vast, crimson red dusk sky. Sakura sighed. She was freaking bored. It had been hours since she had agreed to be the princess of the Haruno Kingdom. Ever since then, she hadn't seen Ino(or Gaara but she could care less since he is quite freaky to be frank). The only times she saw Ino that day was when Ino took food up to her room. Her eyes glanced around at certain objects. _Bored…_ she told herself. Unable to stop herself from sleeping out of boredom, she got from the bed she lied on and walked around.

Sakura made her way to the door and opened it slightly, peeking outside. Seeing as the long hallway was deserted, she stepped out of the room and gently shut the door close. She continued down the hallway, admiring the beautiful paintings that hung on the way. All was going well until a door in the hallway suddenly burst open.

"Aaah! I'm sorry TenTen!" a boy, about her age but maybe a year older, came running out through the doorway and bumped into her, causing her to fall down. He turned, bent down and offered out his hand to her, "Oh I'm so sorry, my beautiful maiden! I wasn't watching where I was going!"

She looked at him and…man was she freaked out! Before her has got to be the biggest and thickest of eyebrows she had ever seen in her life! To her dismay, she involuntarily screeched, "**AAAAAAHHH!**"

A girl with her hair put up into buns appeared from the doorway. "Lee! What have you done!" she pushed the boy aside and helped Sakura up. "I'm so sorry, are you alright?"

Sakura lightly brushed the skirt she wore once she was up. Remembering that Ino had warned her about the princess's traits, she decided to smile gently at the girl. "Um y-yeah. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I was just…um, surprised."

The girl smiled. "Well, I'm glad you're all alright."

Sakura was about to respond but, before she could, a guy appeared from the door. "TenTen, Lee, what are you doing?"

The two people before her, which Sakura assumed the girl was TenTen and the guy was Lee, jumped up in surprise. TenTen bristled, "U-um, sorry Neji. It was Lee's fault! He forgot one of my scrolls and…assumed I was going to punish him so he ran through the door and bumped into this girl here. I was only helping her up."

The guy, known as Neji, stared emotionlessly at the three. "Hm. Both of you go inside."

As if they were inferior to him, they obeyed and entered the room.

Sakura focused her gaze at the floor as he stalked up to her. No, it wasn't that he was so irresistibly hot that she couldn't look at him. It was more because…well let's just say that she despises (more like hates) the Hyuuga and Uchiha Kingdom and here she is, right in front of someone who was from the Hyuuga Kingdom. Now, if you are wondering why she knows, it's simply because it's quite obvious. Those who are royals from the Hyuuga Kingdom had white eyes. She had always wondered why but no one really told her. In fact, she didn't know anybody who knew the reason as to why they had white eyes. "Um…I'm really sor-"

"I'm sorry," he interrupted her. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"N-No, I'm not hurt anywhere." Her gaze remained fixed on the glossy floor, but not for long. She felt her chin lifted up against her will by foreign fingers and her emerald eyes were met with silver ones.

"Your attire seems very…unpleasant. What have you been doing?"

_Is he suspicious of me?_ "W-What? You don't have a right to ask me that."

"You're right. I don't, princess."

Sakura blinked. _What? Princess?_ "What? Princess?"

"You're not the princess?"

_Crap. Now I just gave myself away! Better think of something fast._ "I am. I…I just…I don't know you a-and so…um I didn't know you knew I was the princess…yeah."

He chuckled slightly. "I'm…Hyuuga Neji."

Hyuuga…she didn't know a Hyuuga was capable of being so human-like. In her eyes, the Hyuuga and Uchiha were just despicable beings.

"Sakura! Sakura!"

Sakura turned in the direction of the voice. At the end of the hallway (which was connected to a stair leading down) was Ino. She was running towards them.

"Who's she?" Neji asked.

Sakura paused for a moment. "My bodyguard Ino."

Ino soon caught up. "Sakura! There you are! I couldn't find you anywhere…" She examined Sakura's apparel. "Uh, after we finished picking flowers in the garden! I was looking everywhere for you! Eheheh you know wearing those rag-like clothing do make you harder to find! Oh, are you two acquainted yet?"

Neji remained silent. Seeing this, Sakura decided to answer. "Yeah, Ino. We just got…acquainted."

"Ah I see, Sakura. Uh, would you two like some privacy or something? It seems so tense here, as if you two are having some serious discussion!"

Sakura silently thanked Ino for bringing it up. She could finally escape from the Hyuuga. She opened her mouth to tell Ino that it was okay since it was getting dark and she should sleep soon, but Neji beat her to it.

"Yes, I'd like to speak to Sakura for another moment," he said.

Sakura forced a smile on her face as Ino began to head towards Sakura's room, "Well, enjoy then! Sakura, I'll go and tidy up your room!"

_Could this get any worse?_

"Well, Sakura, you sure seem different," he stated.

_Oh crap. Maybe he is suspecting something?_ "What do you mean?"

"Earlier today, when I had just arrived and you barged in while I was in the middle of a discussion with your father, you seem more…energetic and somewhat rude."

RUDE? Well how could she forget she's a princess? And princesses are supposed to be gentle, timid, and nice. Great. Now she has to make up another lie. Fortunately for her, nobody really knows the princess. "Ah…well…I guess I am a bit like that but I was just getting kind of gloomy back there…uh trying to figure out a…plan to escape Ino's technique." Sakura was relieved. She remembered when she had barged in on the discussion her 'father' was having with Neji and this other guy and Ino came and said something about her escaping the technique.

"I see," he said. He then lifted her small, frail hands up with his hand and placed a light kiss on it. "Well, it's getting pretty late…princess. You should get going."

"Yeah…I should." Sakura blushed and attempted to pull her hand away from his, only to have him grip her delicate fingers hard enough for her to pay him her undivided attention.

"I'd like to request for you to carefully consider your choice in marriage, Sakura. Also, might I add that it will benefit you better too? After all, the sake of your kingdom lies within that."

"Uh…yeah. I know…yeah," with that, Sakura pulled her hands away from his and darted to her room. She slammed her door shut, ran to her bed, and collapsed face-down on it.

"What's wrong?" Ino asked, rising from the chair she sat at and walking towards Sakura. "What'd he talk to you about?"

Sakura grasped the silky sheets of the bed tightly. "He's irresistible!"

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Soon after Sakura disappeared from his sight, Neji entered his room (he has his own room because he is a guest at the Haruno Kingdom for a while) and was greeted with two pairs of eyes filled with curiosity.

"So what'd you tell her, Neji?" TenTen asked eagerly.

"Just this and that," Neji replied.

TenTen and Lee's 'eyes of curiosity' were soon replaced with eyes of suspicion. "Brainwashing her?" Lee asked.

Neji smirked. "Don't call it brainwashing. I don't do brainwash…only that Uchiha guy does that. I merely speak the truth. Her kingdom would definitely fall if she chooses him. After all, what can a kingdom like Sasuke's do? There is no king or queen because they were murdered by the true heir to the throne, Itachi, whose whereabouts are currently unknown. What a terrifying kingdom…as if."

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"Well, of course he's irresistible! He's a prince!" Ino exclaimed dreamily. "But the other one is even dreamier!"

Sakura sat up on the bed. "Hm but he's kind of weird."

Ino looked at her intrigued. "Weird? Heh what do you mean by that?"

Sakura paused a moment. "Oh! Well…hmmm….oh yeah. He was saying some stuff and then he told me to carefully consider my marriage. What does he mean by that? And then he said something about how it would benefit me. Odd, don't you think? Maybe he was just being considerate and decided to give me advice."

Ino let out a small laugh. "Uh, yeah. Now, for tomorrow, we can't have you going around wearing rags."

Sakura glared.

"What, I'm a person of truth and honesty," Ino stated. "Anyway, my bedroom is right across from yours, alright? I picked out an outfit for you already. It's that red Chinese dress over there on that drawer. Make sure you wake up before before 8 and get dressed before 8 also. Breakfast is served at that time. I'll come by at 8 to escort you down, alright?"

Sakura nodded. Ino left.

Shortly after Ino left, Sakura made her way to the drawer that the red Chinese dress was placed on. The dress was designed with a white circle. Placed near the dress was a forehead protector. Sakura panicked a bit. The princess was a ninja right? But Sakura isn't a ninja, nor does she have ninja training or experience. Would being a shinobi impact this act? Well, if it did, she won't be successful at this…could it be called a mission or merely an act?

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The next morning, Sakura awoke groggily. Even though she had already put on that red dress, took a shower, brushed her teeth, and combed her hair, she still felt as though she had barely awoken.

Knock Knock

Sakura yawned as she strolled over to the door and opened the door; it was Ino, as she had expected.

"Alright, rise and shine. Gosh, you look even more terrible than before, forehead girl!" Ino teased.

Sakura glared. "What do you mean by that, Ino-pig!"

The two then began down the hallway, but were joined with an unexpected group.

"Ah, the beautiful maiden has awoken from her slumber!" the guy who had bumped into her the previous night beamed enthusiastically. "I feel so honored to be in your glorious presence again!"

Sakura smiled nervously, "Y-Yeah. Uh thank you for your…original greetings."

"Oh, did I ever introduce myself? Well, I'm Rock Lee and that girl with her hair tied up in buns is TenTen! We are Neji's bodyguards!"

"Ah, I see. Well, it's nice to meet the both of you. I am-"

"Sakura," a voice answered from behind them; it was Neji.

"Yes, I am Sakura," Sakura restated. "Good morning, Neji-san."

"Hm." He walked past her, followed by his bodyguards, and headed down the hallway.

"What's his problem? He was nice yesterday!" Sakura frowned.

Ino sighed. "I don't know. I never really met that guy, but I heard he's cold. Well, actually, he and Sasuke-kun are almost alike…in a way that is! They don't talk much and usually ignores people. Also, if they weren't searching for their brides as of their 17th birthday, I'd have gone and assumed they were gay! Except Sasuke-kun though! It's clear he's straight!"

"Sasuke? He's that Uchiha prince right?"

"Well duh. Wow, you're slow!"

"Oh shut up, pig!"

And then, the two made their way downstairs for breakfast…

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**Senko:** Well I'm still quite busy with school -.o but I've only 9 more days of school! HELL YEAH! Um anyways, Sasuke did not appear in this chapter! I think he might appear in the next chapter. If not, he'll appear in the next one. And if not the next one, then you know the routine lol oh yeah check out my other story "Peer Counseling Day" ok? It's basically about Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai noticing a lack of teamwork, trust, and blahblahblah within their teams. So, they established a Peer Counseling Day, where their teams will get together and discuss their inner/outer conflicts. But, the genins are teenagers and we all know how difficult it is in the teen years :D

Anyways, tell me what you all think of this chapter! REVIEW!


	5. Breakfast, Sasukekun, and Training

**Senko:** Hello, everyone! How's everyone? Are we all glad school's over? Well, for me, I am! I got out of school on June 2! The chapter would have been done earlier but my actions on the computer were limited. I had to restrict the amount of noise that I cause T-T and so that is why I was on the computer but all I did was read fanfics, download Naruto, watch Naruto, read Naruto, and listen to music. Well, yeah, a family member of mine is studying really hard because he has to take a test so yeah. His study time is now over and I can type again! By the way, it is **highly necessary for you to read the "Characters You Need to Know"** section that is right below the Responses. The CYNtK section will introduce to you the characters that you need to know for right now.

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**Responses**

**Ang3lix:** Like I told you, I'm just like so ecstatic you reviewed to my story:D You so rock! Your stories are just awesome! I fully support you too, go Ang3lix! XD

**DoCtOr MeOwZiE:** Thankies so much for your review!

**Iluvanime493:** You'll find out in this chapter since I'm giving the information about the characters and their backgrounds and all!

**Neu chi no nai u:** Why thank you! It's nice to know my chapters are of okay length!

**A.L.S.:** Haha it's alright!

**Shy-Lil-Dreamer:** I should huh? Well, I can guarantee you that I most likely won't (but I might…maybe). Sasuke? In this chapter? Maybe XD read to find out!

**CrissyKitty:** COOL! Letsee…so far, only one person has been rooting for Neji and that's you o.o;; well, it's the other people's fault for not choosing haha

**Krista:** Your review actually works a little bit, you know that? o.o;;

**AiNeko:** You thought that was funny? YAYNESS!

**Me:** Nope, Sakura is not going to be a ninja genius v.v;; ah two endings? You know, I actually considered that at first! I thought that I should make a ending for Sasuke and an ending for Neji! But then I thought, "NAH! Maybe if I'm not this lazy by that time, I'll do it!" so, in conclusion, there is a slight chance of that. Oh yeah, will you write a HakuSaku fic for me then? T-T lol I'm just kidding.

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**CHARACTERS YOU NEED TO KNOW (FOR RIGHT NOW)!**

**Yamanaka Ino:** Ino is Sakura's bodyguard. She was an orphan and taken in by Tsunade when she was a child. She was then trained as a shinobi and resides within the Haruno Palace.

**Gaara:** Gaara is loyal shinobi to the Haruno Kingdom, Jiraiya-sama's favorite to be exact. Not only is Gaara loyal but he possesses the immense strength and power of Shukaku, a demon that is sealed within him. Therefore, Gaara is able to control and command sand. He has an older sister, Temari, and a younger brother, Kankuro, who both serve the Haruno Kingdom.

**Uzumaki Naruto:** Uzumaki Naruto is the bodyguard of the prince Uchiha Sasuke. He, like Ino, was an orphan. Sealed within him is the Kyuubi, the nine-tailed fox. He was taken in by Sasuke's parents at a young age, mainly because they wanted to use the power of the Kyuubi to their advantage.

**Rock Lee:** Rock Lee is the first bodyguard of the prince Hyuuga Neji. He is unable to use ninjutsu or genjutsu although he is very skilled and advanced in taijutsu.

**TenTen:** TenTen is the second bodyguard of the prince Hyuuga Neji. She comes from a long line of incredible weapon masters and specializes with weapons.

**Auburame Shino:** Shino is the first bodyguard of the princess Hyuuga Hinata. He is adequate in the ninja fields and specializes with bugs. Through the hereditary traits from the Auburame Clan, he is equipped with the ability to converse, command, and use bugs.

**Inuzuka Kiba:** Kiba is the second bodyguard of the princess Hyuuga Hinata. Like Shino, he is adequate in the ninja fields although he specializes with dogs. Through the hereditary traits of the Inuzuka Clan, he is equipped with the ability to converse, command, and use dogs.

**Hatake Kakashi:** Kakashi is an extremely skilled jounin and teacher of the prince Sasuke. At the age of five, he graduated from the ninja academy (while the majority of the ninjas graduate around 12, unless they fail or somehow passed easily) and earned a chuunin title by the age of six. He is known to many by the nickname of 'Copy Ninja Kakashi' and wields a Sharigan, something rarely possessed by someone not of the Uchiha Clan. He was hired by the king and queen (before they died) of the Uchiha Kingdom to teach both Naruto and Sasuke.

**Uchiha Itachi:** Itachi is the older brother of Sasuke and the true heir to the Uchiha throne. However, contrary what has been planned for him, he murdered the whole Uchiha Clan and left only his younger brother, Sasuke, to live. Itachi is very powerful, having become an ANBU squad captain at the age of 13 and having already obtained the Mangekyou Sharingan, something that only a rare few of the Uchiha Clan can possess through sacrificing something that I'll not name.

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"Dialogue" – quotes

_Thoughts/emphasis _– italics

/HELL YEAH! I LIVE/ - Inner Sakura/Outer Sakura convo (I assume you can tell the who is who)

**Disclaimers:** If I owned Naruto, I would have made Sasuke smarter -.-;;

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**Chapter 5**

Sakura gazed nervously at the food in front of her then shot a look of uncertainty towards Ino, who sat right next to her (Neji sat in front with his two bodyguards seated to his left and right). She was shocked. I mean, come on dude! She thought it was breakfast, you know, the 'regular' breakfast that the common people get. Contrary to what she had thought, there was a literal feast in front of her!

Ino turned towards her and whispered, "Look normal, forehead girl! Sheez! Remember you're a princess!"

"Stop calling me forehead girl, you Ino-pig!" Sakura snapped aloud.

Big mistake. Upon hearing Sakura's retort, three pairs of eyes settled upon her presence. Well, of course you'd expect that. Maybe had they not been a part of the Hyuuga, they wouldn't look at her as if she was crazy. The Hyuuga Kingdom was very civilized and very respectful. Unless in a fight, you'd probably never _hear_ a Hyuuga scream or shout an insult.

"Whoa! You freaking rock, Sakura-sama!" a voice exclaimed.

A blonde boy with glimmering blue eyes dashed towards Sakura. He was wearing all…uh, orange? Sakura hadn't known that shinobis actually wore, um, light and cheerful colors. The boy had an enormous grin on his face. "You know, you're the best princess ever! If I was a prince, I'd ask your hand in marriage already!"

Sakura stared at him oddly. "What?"

"He is Uzumaki Naruto, Sasuke-kun's bodyguard," Ino informed.

Naruto took a seat next to Sakura and, still facing her, he beamed. "You know, if only more princesses were more like you, Sakura-chan, I believe that the kingdoms would be more peaceful and unity could be formed between the three! Don't you think so?"

She smiled gently, knowing that this Naruto was right and that even though he is the bodyguard of the prince Sasuke, he was still sane and had a heart. "Thank you, Naruto."

Neji grunted. "That's just stupid, Naruto. Princes and princesses are supposed to be civilized and set a good image for their people. You have to make them fear you, make them understand their places. Everyone was born with a destiny and fated to do something. The common people just weren't fated to control the controllers."

"There is no such thing as destiny! I keep telling you! And I thought that you, as a prince, would know! Just because you are a prince, that doesn't mean that you have control over all the people residing in your kingdom! What kind of prince are you?" Naruto retorted.

"What kind of ninja wears orange, huh? What kind of bodyguard is actually guarded by the person he's supposed to guard? And you dare to ask what kind of prince _I _am! Go ask Sasuke what kind of prince _he_ is!" Neji glared.

"Look, I don't care if you talk shit about Naruto, but don't try to bring me into this senseless argument," an unknown voice stated.

All eyes were directed towards the voice; it was a boy. No, scratch that. It was a drop-dead gorgeous guy! He had dark, navy blue hair and wore a dark blue shirt with white shorts. His mesmerizing eyes glanced around the table and the people sitting there. Sakura was staring in awe. It was true that Neji was irresistible but this guy was super-mega-ultra-hyper irresistible! She blushed slightly as he took a seat next to Naruto. Struggling to remain calm, Sakura began to eat.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun!" Ino chirped.

Naruto looked at her. "Stop calling him Sasuke-kun! Only his future bride Sakura-chan can! Pig!"

Sakura choked on the food she was eating and burst out laughing as all pairs of eyes in the room looked at her. "Ino-pig! Did you hear him?" She then leaned back to catch sight of Naruto and gave him a high five. "Hell yeah, Naruto!"

Ino glared at her. "Yes, unfortunately I did. Who wouldn't with such a loud, boisterous, and deafening voice?"

A chuckle filled the room as a guy with long white hair and a beautiful lady with blonde hair entered. Both took a seat at the end of the table. Jiraiya looked at Sakura. "Are you saying that you agree to marry Sasuke?"

Sakura smiled. "No, no, I'd never be able to marry him. I was merely agreeing with Naruto on the pig statement."

Neji smirked. "Seeing as the princess has clearly made her choice, we should form an alliance now, Jiraiya. I don't think there is a point for us to continue this when it's obvious she won't choose Sasuke to be her groom."

She wanted to say something. Yes, Sakura wanted to say that she'd gladly marry Sasuke. What girl wouldn't? He's freaking gorgeous! To be truthful, she didn't want to say that she'd never be able to marry him but it was the truth. She is, after all, only a common person. And who knows how serious these people are. If she said that she wanted to marry Sasuke, they might've wed the two of them and then when the princess was found, she's be pissed that some girl who posed as her married her to someone she didn't like.

Jiraiya broke apart the two chopsticks in his hand. "Well, that doesn't mean that she wants to marry you either, does it?"

Sakura looked back and forth between Neji and Jiraiya. "Huh? What are you two talking about?"

"You didn't tell her?" Neji cast a glance to Jiraiya before beginning to eat.

Jiraiya grinned. "Nope! I thought it'd be more…_interesting_." In truth, Jiraiya was lying. He had only seen Sakura once since she arrived at the palace and had assumed that Ino had told her. Her earlier statement contradicted his assumption. Well, you know what they say: never assume because that makes an ass out of you and me.

"Father…" Sakura began, her stare directed right into Jiraiya's eyes. "I don't know what you three are _talking_ about…but I don't think that I _appreciate_ not knowing what is going on. However, based on what I've heard, I can assume that _difficult_ decisions will be made and failure to allow me to…_interpret_ the _situation_ before hand may result in a…_troubling mess_."

She had made sure that she emphasized the correct words to translate to Jiraiya as: I thought I was just going to play as the princess. If this involves me making any decisions with the two other cold-hearted kingdoms, then pray that you'll find another person with pink hair and green eyes 'cause I am GONE!

He let out a small chuckle. "Sorry, sorry. Ino will tell you later."

Sakura continued to eat, although her mind drifted away from the food. What were they planning? Everything seems really serious on the topic of marriage. What if they make her make a serious decision that results in the princess being pissed off about the chosen choice and ends up killing Sakura to relieve her anger? Oh, she better get her mind away from those thoughts now.

/But what if that does happens/

/I'll be killed/

/Not if I can help it/

/You're just a voice in my head, what can you do/

/Everything you can't do/

/Grrr/

And for the rest of breakfast, Neji and Naruto while arguing, Sasuke was eating, Sakura was eating, Ino was acting pretty and was all over Sasuke, TenTen was eating, Rock Lee was admiring and honoring Sakura's illustriousness and beauty, Tsunade was eating, and Jiraiya observed in amusment.

* * *

"Hey Ino?" Sakura began.

Ino pushed away the objects in the way and pulled out a pocket of kunais and shurikens. "Hm? What?"

"How come the Hyuuga princess wasn't there? How many people are coming? What's Jiraiya talking about? Why do you act as though you're Sasuke's girlfriend? Why does Naruto, a shinobi, wear _orange_! These…kingdoms and stuff just don't seem to be what I expected!"

Ino took the pocket of kunais and shurikens and led Sakura out of the room. "Well, to be honest, that's one of the good yet kind of bad things about this nation of three kingdoms. You see, we are only civilized and serious usually only when we need to. In the public, or until Sasuke is no longer single, I will continue to try to win over his heart. It's who I am and what I do. Naruto is quite powerful and can be a great leader, but his true self is stupid and moronic. Just because we appear as mature and respectful to the public, doesn't mean that we can't be ourselves.

The Hyuuga princess is not here yet. The same goes to all the others who are supposed to be here. The only people who are here are Sasuke-kun, Naruto, Neji, TenTen, and Lee. I think that the other people who'll be arriving soon are Kakashi-san, Hinata-sama, Kiba, Shino, Kurenai-san, and Gai. Kakashi-san is taking care of the Uchiha Kingdom; his wife, Anko, will be taking over when he comes here."

Sakura nodded. "Ahh I see. So then what was Jiraiya-sama talking about?"

"Hm? Oh that. I'll tell you later," Ino then led Sakura into a circular stadium and threw a shuriken at Sakura. Sakura barely dodged it.

"W-W-What the hell, Ino!" Sakura took deep breaths, trying to register what was going on. What was going on: Ino threw a shuriken AT HER and she barely dodged it. "_ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME!_"

Ino grinned. "Of course not! Why would I? I was merely training you!"

Sakura straightened up her position and glared at Ino. "You just threw a sharp object that could kill me!"

Ino continued to grin and then threw the bag of kunais and shurikens towards Sakura. "They stars, the one I threw at you, are called shuriken and the other ones are called kunai. You have to be able to learn how to use these and be as skilled as me! Hehe!" With that, Ino continued to throw some shurikens toward Sakura, purposely aiming it so that Sakura can barely dodge them.

Sakura growled, barely dodging each shuriken. "WHAT THE HELL, INO! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO TEACH ME!"

"Well, you know, as the saying goes: tell me and I'll forget, show me and I'll remember, involve me and I'll understand!" Ino let out a somewhat evil chuckle.

Sakura was struggling to dodge each. "ARGH! STOP MESSING AROUND INO!" Frustrated, Sakura reached into the bag, took out a shuriken, and, with all her strength, hurled it at Ino. The shuriken missed the top of Ino's head by only an inch, flying right by and piercing into a tree deeply.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME, FORE HEAD GIRL!"

"NO, I WASN'T, INO-PIG! I WAS JUST TRAINING!"

* * *

So, how's that? I'd like to clarify that Sakura has no ninja training v.v;; the shuriken she threw at Ino was all pure luck LOL

**REVIEW EVERYONE!**


	6. Fate, an Offer, and OMG SASUKE!

**Senko:** Hello! Sorry it took so long to update! I was undergoing a HUGE writer's block!

**Responses to Reviews from Chapter 5**

**Shujouteki Kumo:** This chapter is definitely longer to make up for the long update ;D Well, at least I think this chapter is longer...

**iluvanime493:** You know what…I don't know if Gaara will be in this chapter o.O;; really, I don't LoL cause I'm making this up as I'm typing, so yeah. Maybe he'll appear, maybe not.

**Zakurrah-chan:** You been reading this for ten times? Woah…never thought someone would like any of my productions enough to read it over for ten times LoL

**luv hate it:** Ain't tellin' xP ya gotta read to find out!

**Yachtzee:** Exactly! Everyone _will _be disturbed!

'**.Serene. Panda.'**: I don't know o.O;; why _did_ I put Gaara in the Haruno Kingdom…uhm…oh yeah! Here's a reason! Because Uchiha and Hyuuga Kingdom are hecka powerful -.- there's Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, and all those powerful people. The Haruno Kingdom needs more powerful people! Hey, I never did put in Gaara's history, huh? I thought I did...but it was actually Ino's history I explained LoL well, I might make up something about Gaara, if I get unlazy enough to think of it LoL Chouji, Temari, and Kankuro? Uhm…you know what, I'm gonna make a chart of the peoples and which kingdom they are in! The chart will be –drumrolls- at the end of the chapter LoL

**neon kun:** I'm updating! Yayness! Finally! LOL!

To everyone else who reviewed, thankies a bunchies! Your reviews mean a lot to me and they help me to update quicker!

**Disclaimer:** Do I really look like Masashi Kishimoto? -.-

* * *

**Chapter 6**

"Stupid, stupid, Ino-pig…stupid, stupid…" Sakura continually muttered under her breath. She was still in the same area she and Ino had been training on. She was now upset because she couldn't beat Ino. Of course, they both knew that she is a beginner and that she has had no ninja training in the past, but still. The point is that she couldn't beat Ino.

_Flashback_

"_AGH!" _

_Sakura stared in disbelief as Ino, once again, suddenly appeared out of the blue and held a kunai against her neck. She was breathing rapidly. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale._

"_I win again, forehead-girl," Ino beamed innocently as she withdrew the kunai and twirled it around with her index finger._

"_H-how…did you do that?"_

"_Do what?"_

"_Like one moment you're right in front of me and then the next you're behind me."_

"_Oh, that…eheh that's called Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."_

"_I know! You told me that already!"_

_Ino sighed. "You just need practice, forehead-girl. You won't be able to beat me right now since you hardly know how to fight._

"_Well, it's almost lunchtime so I've gotta get going! Lunch will be served at 12 sharp, ok? Head back to the same room you were in for breakfast and everybody else should be there, unless you want to eat lunch alone, then you go there later and get food. See ya, forehead-girl!"_

_With that, Ino dashed off, leaving a shocked Sakura._

_End Flashback_

She was still breathing quickly, inhaling and exhaling. Was it simply because she is too weak, or because Ino is just so powerful? She wasn't able to lay a single hand on Ino, while sparring. She was rather tomboyish and loud, to be honest, and so she's been involved in fights before. However, this one was different. She had heard of ninjas working for the palace and guarding the kingdom, but she had never met much less fought one before.

During the training, Ino had gone over some basics of ninja fighting with her. Sakura had practiced hurling kunais and shurikens and controlling chakra. Her throwing skills still need much practice, but Ino had complimented her and said that Sakura had understood chakra a lot faster than she had.

Sakura pounded the ground. "Dammit…"

"Sakura?"

Who had called her? Sakura surveyed the area and soon discovered the distant figure of the one and only queen Tsunade-sama stalking up to her.

"Were you training?" she asked as she approached and kneeled down next to Sakura.

"Uh…yeah," Sakura answered. She stared questioningly as Tsunade lifted up her hand and examined it. Sakura's hand was a bit bruised with minor cuts here and there. After forming a series of hand seals, Tsunade held Sakura's hand as a light blue light enveloped Sakura's hand. Within seconds, the cuts and bruises were gone. Sakura stared in awe.

"I was watching. You understood chakra well, for a beginner. You shouldn't stress over this ninja training thing, because chances are you probably won't ever have to use what was taught to you," Tsunade assured her.

"How do you that!" Sakura exclaimed, still in amazement of Tsunade's healing techniques.

Tsunade smiled proudly. "It's not hard. I can teach you."

Sakura watched closely and listened attentively as Tsunade showed her various hand signs and explained. Afterwards, Sakura copied to the best of her abilities what she observed. Nothing.

Tsunade smiled. "It's rather difficult, so I don't expect you to fully understand everything so soon. With time and practice, you'll become better."

"Really? This is so awesome, Tsunade-sama!" Sakura beamed widely. "This is just so cool! Will you make me your apprentice?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not taking any new apprentices right now. My only apprentice is Shizune."

"What! Please, Tsunade-sama! I want to learn from you rather than that Ino-pig!"

"I'm really sorry, Sakura. Shizune is really gifted and I don't think that I have the time to teach you starting from the basics. Perhaps if you knew more and fought better, I would consider making you my apprentice."

"But won't you give me a chance? Please! I really admire you! Not only are you considered the most beautiful female in the Haruno Kingdom, but you are also so powerful and awesome too! PleasePleasePlease! I promise you I'll work my hardest and study and I'll be on my best behavior!"

Tsunade smiled at her. It was like looking at another version of her daughter, a version of her daughter that a part of her yearned for; she had always wished her own Sakura would be more motivated and have ambitions instead of always hiding in her room and daydreaming. Even though it wasn't her real daughter who was in front of her right now pleading to be accepted as her apprentice, it felt as though it was.

"How about this, you train under Ino for a week. After a week, I will test your skills, mainly your chakra controlling skills. If I deem you acceptable, then I will take you as my apprentice. How's that?"

Sakura's smile widened. "Oh! That's awesome! I will practice and practice and practice! You won't be disappointed!"

Tsunade stood up and departed the area, her back facing Sakura.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Neji-kun's room, TenTen, Lee, and Neji are all talking! Weird, eh? Well, they were talking, yeah, but it more like TenTen and Lee questioning Neji!

"So…Neji-san, are you confident that you will win Sakura-chan's heart?" Lee asked.

"Sakura…_chan_?"

"Yes! Sakura-chan! The most beautiful and magnificent and generous and sweet angel of love!"

"…"

TenTen sighed. "Okay, Lee, you're getting kinda weird again. Anyway, Neji, like Lee said, are you confident about winning Sakura's heart? I mean, when you really think about it, you can't deny that, that Uchiha isn't as good-looking as you are. He has equal chances of winning Sakura. You do know that losing Sakura to that Uchiha guy will result in the destruction of the Hyuuga Kingdom and shame from your family upon you for the rest of your life, right?"

"Yes, I know," Neji answered. "But…this shouldn't be too hard. I believe in fate, and you know who else believes in fate – girls."

TenTen grinned. "I see, Neji. So you plan to tell her some crap about fate, huh? Genius plan, as always."

"I know."

* * *

Walking down the long corridors of the palace were two people. One had blonde hair and the other had dark hair. Guess who it is.

"C'mon Sasuke-teme!"

"Hn."

"Stop saying that! Do you know how to say anything else!"

"Shut up."

"Argh! You bastard! At this rate, you'll never be able to win Sakura-chan's heart!"

"Sakura…_chan_?"

"Yeah! The beautiful and gracious and kind and intelligent Sakura-chan! You can't let that everything-is-fate preacher get her!"

"Shut up. I'm working on my plans. He _won't_ get her."

"Are you sure? I mean, he believes in fate! You know who else believes in fate – GIRLS! All he's got to do is tell her it was fated for them to be together and she'll marry him! And while he's telling her crap about fate, you're here going 'hn' this and 'hn' that!"

"…for once, you have a point."

"YEAH! Wait…whaddya mean _for once_!"

"Whatever…"

Upon turning around a corner, the form of a familiar person caught the attention of Sasuke and Naruto. It was Sakura and she was going down the stairs. Naruto put on a wide smile.

"Sakura-chan!" He quickly ran down the stairs and embraced her.

Sakura pushed him away. "NARUTO!"

Naruto grinned. "Watsup, princess?"

"Nothing. I was just heading down to get some lunch," she said, continuing down the stairs.

"Oh, really? What a coincidence! Sasuke-teme and I are also going to get some lunch!"

Sasuke glared at Naruto. "What, I-"

Naruto returned the glared. "We should all have lunch together and get to know each other. Right, Sasuke-teme?"

"Hn."

Within a couple of minutes, the three finally arrived at the dining room. They were the only ones there, since it was about an hour past noon. Sasuke was about to take a seat when he felt Naruto nudge his side.

"Be the prince you are," Naruto whispered for Sasuke to hear.

Sasuke mentally sighed before putting on his irresistible prince charming face. He grabbed Sakura's chair before she could and pulled it out for her. Sakura blushed.

"Uhm…t-thank you, Sasuke-san," she said, taking a seat.

Sasuke took a seat to Sakura's right, with Naruto to his left. The three began to eat in silence, until Sasuke felt Naruto's feet kick his feet from beneath the table.

"Ahem!" Naruto coughed.

Sasuke sighed mentally again. "So, Sakura…_chan_…how do you feel about this?"

He was referring to how she had to choose whether she would marry either him or the Hyuuga and had assumed that she knew what he was referring to, but assuming will only result in making an ass out of you and me. Unfortunately for Sasuke, Sakura had assumed he was referring to her having lunch with him and Naruto.

"It's great!" Sakura smiled. "I think that it's a great idea! I'm learning more about both the Hyuuga and Uchiha Kingdom every day!"

"You are not at all uncomfortable with this?"

"No, absolutely not! I've always wondered about the Hyuuga and Uchiha Kindom and now, my questions are being answered."

"Questions? What sort of questions?"

"Well, I've recently discovered that you guys are just like the village people! You're nothing really special and behind the powerful, merciless, and serious surface of yours lies a regular person."

"Hn."

Just like the village people? Nothing really special, she says? _A regular person_, she says? Okay, nobody, _NOBODY_, calls an Uchiha just a regular person who is _not_ special and is similar to village people! How dare she!

"Well, I better go now, Sasuke-san, Naruto. I must continue training so I can beat Ino-pig. It was nice having lunch with you guys," she said, rising from her seat and exiting the room. For a while, the two boys continued to eat in silence, until Naruto spoke.

"You're pissed," Naruto stated calmly.

"…hn."

"You're pissed!" Naruto laughed. "Sasuke-teme's pissed!"

"Shut up. I am _not_ pissed."

"C'mon, Sasuke-teme, you know you can't lie to me!" Naruto flashed a grin. "You're pissed…because she called you a regular person!"

When did Naruto become so intelligent?

"I don't care about what she thinks of me."

"You know you do. C'mon, admit it!"

"Shut up."

* * *

Sakura made her way back to the area that Ino had taken her to train, earlier that morning. She picked up a five shurikens and tossed them straight at a random tree. Only two hit. Since Tsunade healed her, she had been training nonstop. She would train to her limits, she would improve, and she would become Tsunade's apprentice. Why, you ask? For one, it is because Tsunade is rumored to be the most powerful and beautiful female of the Haruno Kingdom. Rumors have it that Tsunade rivaled her former teammates, Jiraiya and Orochimaru. Second, since she was young Sakura was always been known as the big sister to all little village kids who knew her. She would defend them when they were picked on, or help nurse them back to health when they were hurt. Life for the village people wasn't all that easy, mainly for Sakura and those who were at the bottom of the class in terms of status. Looked down upon, picked on, and often seen as nothing more than trash, Sakura was one of the few who strived to prove that it was who you are that gives you importance and value, not your class. Now, she was being offered a chance to become stronger to defend those of her kind in the Haruno Kingdom.

She grabbed a few more shurikens and threw them straight at another tree. No improvement. At least not yet. She continued to repeat the same routine. Minutes passed by and soon turned into hours.

"Forehead-girl?"

Sakura turned to the voice. It was Ino. Ino ran up to her.

"You're still training? I looked all over the place for you! I didn't know that you'd still be training!" she exclaimed.

Sakura let out a small laughter. "Well, I'm not letting you beat me!"

Ino grunted. "What! You are so…argh! I cannot believe this! You want to defeat _me_? Ha! You can never defeat me, forehead-girl! C'mon, it's getting dark. Let's clean up and go to dinner."

Dark? Sakura looked up at the sky, and indeed it was dark. The two girls began to gather the weapons that were scattered on the ground and place them into a bag. Ino set the bag by a tree, afterwards. The two left, headed for the same dining room.

"Hey, Ino?" Sakura began, while the two were walking down a hall.

"Hm?"

"Were you serious, when you said I could never defeat you?"

"Oh, that. Yeah, I was serious."

"Really? So…I can't defeat you at all? Are you invincible?"

Ino laughed. "I-Invincible! No, in fact I'm not that strong at all. Well, at least I'm not as strong as Tsunade-sama or Sasuke-kun. I would be an average ninja, if not for Tsunade teachings. Because of Tsunade, I am only an above average ninja. You, forehead-girl, who has never had any ninja training or been in any ninja fight, will never be able to defeat me unless you were trained by someone as powerful as Tsunade."

"Oh. How strong is Sasuke-san?"

"Uhm…hm, I don't know. I never fought him before, and I'm sure hope that if I ever do, he won't be serious while fighting me. People like Sasuke-kun and Neji and Naruto and Lee…well, they are gifted. Not only were they trained under strong mentors, but they were born with strength and power. I don't think that I would be able to lay a hand on them if I ever fought them!"

"I see."

Soon, they arrived at the dining room. It was seven; Sakura had taken a glance at a clock in the hall while walking. Everyone was seated at the table. Jiraiya, Tsunade, Sasuke, Neji, Naruto, Lee, and TenTen were all there. There were two seats left for Ino and Sakura: on between Tsunade and TenTen…and the other one between Sasuke and Neji. On one side of the table sat Jiraiya, then Tsunade, then an empty seat, and then TenTen. On the other side of the table sat Naruto, then Sasuke, then an empty seat, then Neji, and then Lee. Ino quickly took the seat beside Tsunade and TenTen. Odd, Sakura had thought that Ino would take the seat beside Sasuke. Sakura sat down beside Sasuke and Neji.

"Good evening, Sakura," Neji greeted.

Sakura smiled. "Good evening to you, too, Neji-san."

Once again, Naruto kicked Sasuke. Sasuke grunted.

"Good evening, Sakura," Sasuke greeted as well.

"Good evening, Sasuke-san," Sakura smiled.

Jiraiya chuckled. "So, are you all getting along well?"

"Yep!" Sakura answered.

"Hn."

"I guess."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Hinata and her bodyguards will be coming here tomorrow, and so will all of your mentors," Jiraiya informed.

"Hinata-chan's coming here? Awesome!" Naruto exclaimed.

Naruto received a glare from Neji.

"Stay away from my cousin," Neji growled.

"You said that our mentors will be coming here, right?" Sasuke asked. "Who is going to watch over my kingdom if Kakashi comes here?"

"Oh, that. I think that he said something about dogs, " Jiraiya answered.

"Hn."

For the rest of the time, everyone ate in silent. A few conversations were started by Tsunade and Jiraiya, but none lasted very long. Soon enough, dinner was over. Ino and Sakura were walking to their rooms. Sakura stopped, as they reached the training area that Sakura had been training at earlier that day.

"Forehead-girl?" Ino said.

"Oh, Ino, you can go back to your room. I'll come soon," Sakura said.

"Alright then." With that, Ino left to her room.

Sakura went up to the bag of weapons that Ino had set by tree. She took out a shuriken and threw it at a tree. It missed. She grunted.

"Hey," called a male voice.

Sakura turned around. There was no one. Then she turned back, only to bump into another person and fall down.

"AAH!" she screamed in surprise as she fell down to the solid ground. She looked up to see that it was Sasuke. He held out a hand to her.

"Sorry. Did I scare you?" he asked.

Sakura took his hand, blushing, as he pulled her up to her feet. "Uhm…y-yeah, kinda."

"You were training?"

"Yeah."

Sakura avoided looking at him and kept her down to prevent him from seeing her blush. Also, he's irresistible. Looking at him too much may result in fainting or excessive squealing -.-

"Well, it's pretty late. I should be going," he said, beginning to turn to walk away.

"Uhm, w-wait, Sasuke-san!" Sakura called out. He halted and turned around to look at her. "How…how strong are you?"

She could see the smirk on his face, thanks to the moon's gleam.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious…about the strength of the prince of a powerful kingdom."

"In order to measure my strength, you will need to fight me."

"…oh."

"But I won't fight you. I don't fight girls. Also, you threw a shuriken at the tree and missed," he bent down and took a few shurikens from the bag, which was right next to Sakura, and casually tossed them at a random tree. Sakura looked at the tree, only to see the shurikens all lined up in a single line vertically down the tree. He had perfect aim. She stared in astonishment. "When you can throw like that, Sakura-chan, I'll fight you."

And with that, he turned and left. Sakura continued to stare at the tree with countless thoughts running through her head.

_H-He has…perfect aim!_

_Tch, damn him! Giving me an attitude! 'When you can throw like that, I'll fight you'! Whatever! So what if he throws better than me! I'll beat him!_

_Not only is he good-looking…but he can throw perfectly! I wonder if he's invincible…_

_BLEH! Damn him! You just wait, Sasuke! One of these days, I will beat you! Mark my words!_

**Senko-chan:** Well, that's all for now! ;D Oh, below is the chart of who where! These people will be appearing in the next chapter!

**Haruno Kingdom:** Jiraiya, Tsunade, Sakura, Gaara, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Asuma

**Uchiha Kingdom: **Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke

**Hyuuga Kingdom:** That Hiashi dude, Neji, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Lee, TenTen, Kurenai, Gai

If you are wondering about Temari and Kankuro, well, they'll appear soon! I think…yeah LoL and they do not belong in any of these kingdoms...because these three kingdoms make up the Fire Country and Temari and Kankuro do not belong in the Fire Country. Guess which country they belong in ;D well, REVIEW EVERYONE!


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